Toy figure manipulating means



Jan. 6, 1953 s. c. BoYcE TOY FIGURE MANIPULATING MEANS Filed Nov. 10,1949 B te Sfan/e C 8014 64 Patented Jan. 6, i953 Nl TED STATES ParentOFFICE 2,624,155 I T! FIGURE MANIPULATING MEANS Stanley Charles Boyce,Toronto,?0ntario, Canada Application November 10, 1949, SerialNo/126,485

1 This inventionre'lates to the animation of toy figures and theprincipal object of the invention is to enable a'doll, animal or otherfigure capableoi being manipulated to walk and move in anxextremelylife-like manner, and to enable the animated figure to lead the personcausing its manipulation without any apparent means of actuation"therebetween. V

A further important object is to provide a device for manipulating thetoy figure, which device will beexceedingly inexpensive and can bereadily andquickly attached to any figure capable of having its legsmoved with respect to its body.

Theprincipal feature of the invention consists in providing a pair oflongitudinally rigid operators with"means at each end thereof to afiorda swivel connection with the feet of a figure to be animated and thefeet of a person wishing to manipulate the figure, to enable movement ofthe manipulators feet to be transferred into corresponding walkingmovements of the figure in lead of the manipulator.

A further important feature consists in forming the longitudinal rigidoperators to provide a cross-over scissor-like arrangement to enable afour-footed figure to be ianipulated with the correct walking action.

Referring to'the accompanying drawings,

Figure l is a perspective view of a figure being animated in accordancewith this invention.

Figure -2 is a perspective view on a reduced scale of a dog beingmanipulated with a pair of cross-over operators to provide the correctwalking action.

Figure 3 is an elevational view of a toy horse having operatorsconnected thereto for causing its manipulation.-

Figure 4 isane Jarged plan view of a modified form of the operators toprovide the cross-over action for manipulating a four-footed toy figure.

Figure 5 is an enlargeddetail of one method of fastening the flexiblefoot connectors tothe rigid operators Figure 6 a detail of analternative form of iastening-meansshowing the means of connecting, therigid. operators to the feet as simply an elastic stapled thereto;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a kangaroo having the legs connectedfor manipulation by a single operator rod.

In playing withhis toy figures it is theparticular desire of a child toimpart to them life'- like'movementsandexpressions, and' it is theobjector this invention to provide a means 'en- 4 Claims. (01. 45- -125) abling the life-like-anima'tion of any of his toy figures which havelimbs movable relative the body, and-further, to enable the manipulationof" the toy to be easily carried out that the child himseli mayactuate-its movements to follow precisely his own.-

Referring to Figure Lin which the operation of a .doll as one-embodimentof my invention is illustrated, '1 show the doll figure I provided withlegs 2 which are movahlerel-ative the body portion on the pivot -3.'-

Extending between the-feet oi the doll 4 and the feet 5 of the personmanipulating the doll are the longitudinally rigid operators 6 whichmaybe wire,'wood or the like and of any design of sufiicient rigidity totransfer the movement of the operators feet to the feet of the doll.

The connection between the operators 5 and the doll comprise the bands 1encircling the dolls ankles and connected to the operators for movementrelative thereto by any suitable means, for instance,- by the clamps 8of Figure 5 or the staple 9 of Figure 6. Preferably these bands compriseelastic bands which can be quickly slipped over the feetoi the doll intoposition. Whether the actual connection between thesebands I and theoperators is a swivel connection, is immaterial, provided the bandsthemselves are of suificierit flexibility to afford a swivel movement ofthe operators relative the legs in the-Walking action.

The bands It, which afford the means of'securing the operators 6 to thefeet of the person manipulating the doll, are similar to the bandsl,prefe'rably simply elastic bands "clamped or stapled to the operators,as 'shownin Figuresfi and 6 The staple connection is an extremely simpleone enabling the hands to be readily changed if they should break.

Supporting the doll in an upright position during the walking action isthe guide rod H formed with the work end it engaging under the arms 130f the doll figure. This guide rod is a simple'guideand support meansthat can be'conveniently gripped by the person-manipulatingthe-figure,vbut it will be understood-that a harness or any other suitable supportmeans may be used-as desired.

InFig'ur'e 2 the-dog I4 is made to walkwith opposite front "and rear'legs 'mov-ing, simultaneously..- In this case'the operators are :formedwith an elongated S-like'extension IE to provide the "cross-overarrangement illustrated; andva ring I6 encircling both operators attheir point of cross-over and loose thereon holds the operators inrelative position while permitting longitudinal sliding motiontherebetween as the dog is walked. Again these operators are providedwith bands 1 and I respectively, fitting the legs of the doll and thetoes of the operator.

The dogs legs may simply be flexible or they may be rigid and pivoted tohis body, although in the case of a four-footed animal the need of aguide or support may not be required. I show a leash I! attached to thedogs collar I 8, giving a more realistic eiTect and by making the leashlongitudinally rigid giving further control to the dogs movements.

Figure 3 illustrates my invention applied toa horse, but in this casethe operators [9 simply include spaced bands 1, and the legs at eachside of the animal are operated simultaneously with the legs 20 and 2|at one side being shown advanced relative the other side.

Figure 4 illustrates an alternative form of cross-over operators 22,aifording a scissor-like action, permitting relative longitudinalmovement. In this case the operators are formed from relatively broadstrips having extensions 23 bent laterally and twisted as at 24, the onebeing formed with a slot 25 to receive the other to maintain them inrelative position while permitting longitudinal movement. Again theseoperators carry suitable means for affording a connection with the feetof the animal to be manipulated in the form of the bands 1.

Actually, while I have found these bands to be the simplest connectingmeans usable for all different types of figures, it will be understoodthat any other type of connection affording some relative movementbetween the feet being manipulated and the operators may be used, andwhere the toy figure is specifically constructed for use with ourinvention it may itself incorporate the means for affording a connectionwith the operators, such as snap fastener elements or the like.

While my invention is simple, nevertheless I am able to create a morelife-like walking action than has heretofore been possible, and I amable to make my figures lead the manipulator with connection between hisfeet and the legs of the figure being almost inconspicuous, so that thecontrol of the figure is not apparent.

Further, the construction and arrangement of my device enables thefigure to be manipulated so simply that even the smallest walking childcan impart walking action to his toys.

With the bands 1 and I0 elastic they automatically adjust to any sizefoot and to any size of leg on the figure being animated. However,other'equivalent connector means may be employed and may be connected toother than the foot or toe of the person manipulating the figure or tother than the ankle of the figure as illustrated without departing fromthe scope of my invention.

In certain toy figures the legs may be interconnected for simultaneousmovement upon operation of the connector. The toy kangaroo of Figure 7is of this type whereby the pivotal legs 26 are connected by a pin 21 toprovide a simultaneous hopping movement in which case a single operator28 is sufficient to enable the kangaroo to lead the person causing itsmanipulation, the operator 28 being swivelly connected to the pin 2! andto the persons foot by the elastic band 28. Other modifications ofinterlinked leg movements may of course also be employed as desiredwithin the concepts of the I have envisaged.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Means for manipulating a four-footed figure to be animated,comprising a. pair of longitudinal- 1y rigid rod-like operators havingcross-over extension portions, means confining said extension portionsin cross-over relation while permitting relative longitudinal movementtherebetween, connectors carried by said cross-over extensions wherebyeach operator extension is loosely connectable to opposing front andrear legs of the figure to be manipulated, and connectors carried bysaid operators removed from said cross-over extensions whereby saidoperators are loosely connectable with the toes of a person tomanipulate said figure, and guide means adapted to engage and supportthe body of the figure to be said first-mentioned connectors comprisinghorizontal elastic loops flexibly connected to said operators onopposite sides of the realistic toy figure animation loops flexiblyconnected to said operators remote from the cross-over of said extensionportions and adapted to encircle the manipulators toes.

2. A device It. The combination with a walking figure to be animated, ofmeans for imparting life-like animapoint remote from said positionremoved from the figure.

4. The combination with a walking figure to be animated, of means forimparting life-like animation to said figure from a point remote fromsaid in a detachable swivel connection,

5 the manipuiators height supporting said figure above said operatorsand extending to a manipulators position removed from the figure.

STANLEY CHARLES BOYCE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Goye Dec. 23, 1879 Number Re. 9,003

Number 10 Number Name Date King Sept. 11, 1877 Rutz Sept. 19, 1911Williamson Oct. 12, 1920 Lawrence Nov. 25, 1941 Donovan June 12, 1945Valenti Aug. 14, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Nov. 17, 1934

